The goals of the raffle are two-fold: (1) raise awareness about carbon pricing as a solution for carbon emissions overload, and particularly the efforts going on about that in Massachusetts and (2) raise funds for that mission. I also have a personal goal of giving away a Tesla Model S or Model X plus helping put two more winners into Model 3s (assuming they want that) because I'm insane for the car and the company.

There are more steps to take around further engagement specifically with House members and also with Governor Charlie Baker. After all, the bill will have to get passed in both chambers and then signed. But one good sign is that Charlie Baker, a moderate Republican, has signed Massachusetts up to be part of the United States Climate Alliance along with California, New York, Washington State, and eight other states plus Puerto Rico. This alliance was announced the day after Trump withdrew the USA from the Paris climate agreement. So if Baker is willing to sign up for this alliance, I take that as a positive sign that he will listen hard to the possibility of signing carbon pricing legislation.

All right, we're giving away $187,000 in prizes in part just to get you to read paragraphs like the ones above.

Good luck!

Alan

P.S. For the moderators: I've read the sections on appropriate posts and am hopeful that I am still well-aligned with the spirit of mynissanleaf.com and have chosen an appropriate section in which to post. If not, I hope you will move this thread to wherever it best belongs and/or contact me to clarify any questions or concerns you may have. I wish to be a good forum citizen.

(1)Climate XChange is a 501c3 nonprofit, founded in 2013, recognized by the IRS, incorporated in Massachusetts, and registered with the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office and the Massachusetts Secretary of State's Office.

(2)Disclosure: my wife, Jessica, co-founded Climate XChange.

(3)We've done this once before, in 2015, including with a thread on this forum. See http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=21070. The Grand Prize winner configured an S85D for $93,700. The total for the Grand Prize that year was $110,700 so we also sent the Winner $17K in cash. OK, as a check, we're not stupid enough to put cash in the mail. And we sent the IRS $36,730 for the Winner's federal income tax withholding due on the Prize. I'm pretty sure he was happy. He and his wife sure seemed happy!

(4) We're not affiliated with or sponsored by Tesla, Inc., so there's no way we can guarantee your exact priority order or delivery date. Tesla's going to deliver Model 3 according to its own algorithm, e.g., from West Coast rolling towards East Coast. That said, your reservation should be treated in rough accordance with other reservations made around the time reservations opened up. Compared to, say, putting your deposit down now and being #400,000 in line.

(5)Last I checked, we weren't an official representative of the US Government or of Tesla. Based on everything we currently understand, though, the Winners will receive their Teslas in plenty of time to still be eligible for the federal EV tax credit, but of course whether you actually get the credit depends on your individual circumstances and whether the tax credit hasn't somehow been killed off.

Tickets have been flying off the shelf! We're over 1900 now, 2500 max. Raffle closes 2 p.m. July 4. Drawing @ 7:30. Not much time left to grab a ticket or two.

You need not be present to win (but if you do want to come join us for the BBQ @ 5:30, please RSVP on our website, then you can walk down to the Esplanade and see the fireworks and Boston Pops after the drawing); there will be a livestream(*); details will be on the website.

(*)Some of you may remember the last livestream we did. What a disaster! It worked up until 5 minutes before the drawing -- it was New Year's Eve and livestream.com decided our livestream didn't need to be displayed. It all showed up the next morning but by then it was too late. So, yeah, we're gonna do two live streams this time, one on FaceBook and one TBD.

At roughly 7:30 Tuesday night -- not long before everyone starts to enjoy fireworks and, in Boston, at the Esplanade, also the Boston Pops orchestra -- at 7:30 or so, I say, Climate XChange will give away:

A Tesla S or X valued at up to $120K (unless you want to configure it with fewer options and take out the difference in cash) with an accompanying federal income tax withholding payment of $40K (total value $160K).

And then we'll call the lucky winners to congratulate them and start the ball rolling on delivering their prizes!

That's what we did last time (except a bit less money for the S and the rest were electric tool prizes that everyone turned down and took the cash instead). That's what we're going to do again.

Thanks for listening,Alan

P.S. If you're nearby, please RSVP and come join us Tuesday at the BBQ @ 5:30; need not be a ticket holder. No admission fee. Bring your family and suddenly you have an awesome July 4 family plan and never have to admit that you were just winging it: spend the afternoon doing something historic (e.g., walk the Freedom Trail), then BBQ with us @ 5:30, then watch the Drawing @ 7:30, then hoof it a scan 4-5 blocks down hill to the Esplanade to see the fireworks and listen to the Boston Pops. Tell me that's not a good plan!

While the last date and time for Carbon Pricing Awareness Raffle ticket sales is nominally Tuesday, July 4th @ 2 pm ET, it looks like we're going to sell out before that. Ticket sales close once we reach 2500.

Drawing is Tuesday, July 4th @ 7:30 p.m. BBQ starts at 5:30 p.m. Please RSVP through the website, carbonraffle.org. I hope whoever wins Grand Prize, 2nd and 3rd will each give me a ride in their cars. Doesn't matter that I have my own, I still love getting rides!